An Insane Work Ethic – And How You Can Build One

A sound work ethic will get you a very long way in life.

An insane work ethic will get almost everything you ever wanted.

But an insane work ethic is a rare thing.

And it's getting rarer.

Everybody wants the easy life…and massive success.

But the easy life hardly ever comes before success…apart from for the very few.

This is the usual order things tend to go in, when it comes to achieving success:

Insane Hard Work
Massive Success
Easy Life (if you even want it)

What about you?

Are you going to place your dream of success in the hands of luck?

A lottery number coming up? The roll of a set of dice?

Are you hoping to achieve everything you want without putting in the hard graft?

Well, probably not…

…because you are here reading this article about developing an insane work ethic.

Good for you.

You're going to join the likes of Mark Cuban, Richard Branson, Marissa Myer and many other super successful people…

…in developing an insane work ethic and thereby making success almost unavoidable.

What Even is ‘Work Ethic’?

Work ethic is your set of personal values about work itself…

…why you work, and how hard you work.

You may have a weak work ethic…

In which case you probably see work as too hard, too time-consuming.

Best left to other people, ‘cos you need time to chill.

One of your main goals is to do as little of it as possible.

Or you may have a strong work ethic...

In which case you likely see work as one of the cornerstones of life.

You understand that without hard work, you will have few foundations upon which to build much else.

And actually, you don’t even see work as ‘hard’ anyway.

Because you know how much pleasure you get, from the long-lasting satisfaction of a job well done.

Whether you have a weak work ethic, or an insane work ethic…it’s a state of mind that forms part of your character.

And if you want to, you can change it.

How To Develop A Strong (Or Even An Insane) Work Ethic

Developing a sound work ethic is about forming a new habit.

The habit of doing work.

And it's about changing the way you think about work.

Right now, you may be one lazy son-of-a-gun…

…but it does not have to stay that way.

9 Tips For Improving Your Work Ethic:

#1. Start Every Day Well – Get to Work on Time (or Even Early)

Do you often find yourself showing up for work a couple of minutes late?

If so, your work ethic may need a little attention.

But even if it doesn't, people generally tend to see late arrival at work as laziness and a lack of good work ethic.

Of course it isn't always the case, but it is the perception.

Chances are, you want to get to work on time, but you have a tough schedule of stuff to do, before you can even get out of your own front door.

Whatever it is, you need to identify the cause and find a solution.

It may mean you have to haul out of bed 30 minutes earlier, and if you're already an early riser that may sound tough, but…

…if you're turning up to work late on the regular…

…your colleagues think you're lazy, and that is extremely damaging for you.

#2. Be Dependable

Never, ever, be flakey. In work and in business, people love dependable people.

If you say you're going to do something, do it.

Do it before you said you would, and do it better then was expected, or required.

Being dependable in business will earn you respect.

And knowing that people see you as someone who they can count on, will increase your job satisfaction endlessly.

Plus, dependable people who always over deliver, get rewarded with promotions and pay rises.

#3. Work a Flexible Day

The nine-to-five routine is not for everyone, that's for sure.

Our body-clocks are all set to run a little differently, and it changes at different stages of our lives.

If you find that your not quite firing on all cylinders until mid-morning, or that you're keen to be working at 6am but struggling at 4pm…

…you would likely benefit from working a more flexible day.

If you work for yourself this is obviously not a problem.

But there are professions and jobs that require very set working hours.

Most jobs though, in this day and age, due to web-based technology, should be able to be made more flexible.

It is well worth pushing for the flexibility to work when you feel at your most energised and inspired.

#4. Stop Seeing Your Weekend as Sacrosanct

Your weekend is not too important or valuable to be interfered with.

I know that this sounds like it's at total odds to having any kind of a balanced lifestyle…but it's actually not.

It's more a case of being totally flexible in all areas of your life.

If you're going to push for massive success, you may well have to get a couple of hours work done on a Saturday or Sunday…every now and again.

#5. Don’t Allow Setbacks to Halt Your Progress

Setbacks, problems, mistakes, they all will happen from time-to-time.

Do not let any of them stop you in your tracks.

You can have pretty much anything you want in life, apart from a life without problems…nobody gets to have that.

You will make mistakes. Everybody does.

But, people with great work ethics recognise that getting back up and and dusting yourself off quickly is absolutely vital.

At the top, you do not have the time to spend s few days licking your wounds.

#6. Eliminate Distractions / Be Focused

The modern world is absolutely full of distractions, endless distractions.

Messages popping up on one of your many screens.

Devices pinging at you.

Your own habit of wanting to check something-or-other, every ten minutes or so.

Distractions of this type divert your attention away from the task you're trying to complete.

Distractions stop you getting into a state of flow.

They limit your ability to focus.

Take total control of your devices, and how and when you can be contacted/interrupted.

This is easy to implement and will have a huge impact on your productivity.

#7. Measure Your Work Ethic Against That of Others

Who is the hardest worker, most successful person you know?

Start comparing yourself against them.

Pick a few of their most desirable traits and start trying to outperform them in those areas.

It might be their positive mindset that is their outstanding trait.

It could be the high-quality of their work.

Their generosity.

Whatever it is. Decide you are going to out-do them in those areas.

#8. The Hard Thing Rule

In her outstanding book, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, positive psychologist Angela Duckworth speaks of “the hard thing rule.”

This ‘rule’ says you should do something hard every single day.

The aim is to develop the habit of pushing yourself beyond what you are used to.

If you do this, you will be deep into developing your work ethic.

#9. Choose Your Friends Carefully

Hang about with lazy, unambitious people, and it will be much more of an uphill struggle to develop a sound work ethic yourself.

It sounds brutal and unkind but the evidence holds true.

The success we achieve is generally the average of the five people we spend the most time with.

Associate with ambitious, hard-working, successful people, and you’ll find your are pulled along in the same direction.

What About Work/Life Balance?

While building your strong work ethic, do not fall into the trap of becoming a workaholic with nothing else going on in your life.

What success have you really achieved if your health is poor and your home life is in tatters.

Not much at all.

A balanced lifestyle requires that you spend time doing stuff outside of work as well.

It's about making sure that whatever you are doing, you are all totally immersed in it for the whole time.

You are totally, laser-beam focused on the task at hand…

…whether that is getting some complex task over the line at work, or having fun with your family or friends.

Give it everything you've got.

Be all-in!

Not doing one thing, while daydreaming about doing something else.

Total laser-bean focus…I think it's currently called mindfulness…and it works.

This is how high achievers get so much done.

High achievers are getting more work done in the first two to three hours of their day, then the average Joe get's done in a full day.

Eat well.

Exercise.

Sleep the right amount of time for you, but not too much.

Add self-discipline in to all of these areas and you will be both building your work ethic, and strengthening every area of your life.

What About Applying The Law Of Attraction, Instead Of Hard Work?

Have you ever wondered whether it's possible to achieve all the success you want in life…

…by replacing hard work, with learning to use the Law of Attraction instead?

I'm a huge believer in the affect that a positive mindset has on achieving success.

But I'm not a believer in using the Law of Attraction as an excuse for laziness.

And unfortunately, this is the road that many believers in LoA choose to go down.

Knowing exactly what you want, and being able to visualise it with absolute clarity, and burning desire, can bring success to your door…

…but…

…it is undoubtedly, your sheer hard work, that will open the door to let it in.

How To Build An Insane Work Ethic – Wrapping It Up

Here's one of my favourite quotes about the relationship between work and success…

Depressing to some, when it dawns on them just how much sheer hard work goes into creating success.

Be all-in.

It’s all about flow, because within a state of flow not much feels like hard work.

But if you keep a task at arms-length, never going all-in, never getting fully involved…that job feels like pulling teeth from start to finish.

You'll know when you have successfully developed your work ethic.

Hard work won't feel hard anymore.

You will have developed the habit, changed your way of thinking.

You will no longer be pushing yourself every step of the way.

You will feel more like you are being pulled along.

And that feels a whole lot better.